PROP FIRM GUIDE • UPDATED SEPTEMBER 2026

Best Prop Firms for US Traders in 2026

US residents meet more closed doors than any other nationality on this site. CFD prop firms often exclude the United States outright or serve it only through a separate US entity, while the futures firms are largely built for American traders — so the answer depends entirely on which firm you ask. We checked all 54 firms we track against their own terms of service, FAQ and restricted-country pages: 27 state that they accept US residents, 5 exclude the country outright, and 22 do not document it either way — those are left off this page rather than guessed at. The second gate is getting paid. Rise, Deel and crypto each carry their own country coverage, separate from the firm's trading terms, so the payout column shows what each firm documents — a firm whose only rail cannot reach you is no use however good the rules are.

Ranked list (25 firms)

#	Firm	Best for	Payout rails	Code	Trustpilot	From	Deal
1	FundedNext	Big winners — no consistency cap on any Stellar CFD product, weekend holding allowed	USDT (ERC20, TRC20) · USDC (ERC20) · RiseWorks · Bank Transfer	PFDEALS	4.5	$32.99	Get deal →
2	FTMO	Established traders with track record (unchanged)	Bank wire transfer · Visa Direct / Mastercard Send	—	4.8	—	Get deal →
3	The5ers	Slow consistent growth + SL discipline; Bootcamp users wanting scaled funding for low	Rise (Rise Works) · Crypto — USDT (TRC20), USDC (ERC20), ETH	N9BKR	4.7	$19	Get deal →
4	Moneta Funded	Forex/CFD traders wanting an 88% split with self-developed EAs allowed	USDC-ERC20 · USDT-ERC20 · USDT-TRC20 · Direct payout	—	4.5	$25	Get deal →
5	City Traders Imperium	Algo/EA traders (the 1-Step takes third-party EAs and Martingale)	Bank transfer · Direct Crypto	GOLD15	4.2	$29	Get deal →
6	Audacity Capital	High-volatility strategies that need 7.5% daily and unlimited time	Bank Transfer (SWIFT/SEPA) · PayPal · Cryptocurrency	14th	—	$49	Get deal →
7	Blue Guardian	Tight-DD swing traders who want a static-drawdown 2-step	Rise / Riseworks · Crypto · Bank transfer · International wire	BG25	—	$24	Get deal →
8	Instant Funding	Micro-account testing, add-on-flexible funded paths, and PlusPoints stacking for repeat	RISE · Crypto (USDC ERC-20) · Bank transfer (SWIFT)	CLARITY37	—	$25	Get deal →
9	BrightFunded	Long-term traders wanting unlimited scaling and 100% split progression. Choose plan	Crypto (USDC – ERC-20 Network) · Bank Transfer	3YEARS	—	—	Get deal →
10	Funded Trader Markets	Forex/CFD traders wanting variety - many instant + evaluation paths	Cryptocurrency (USDT – TRC20 network) · Rise	SEP	—	$20	Get deal →
11	Goat Funded Trader	Traders chasing variety and the 100% split addon, accepting higher account closure risk	Rise · Crypto · Skrill · Bank transfer (Kenya, South Africa	FIRSTGFT	—	$36	Get deal →
12	My Funded Futures	CME futures specialists with flexible plan selection (Rapid for daily payouts	Riseworks (Rise) · Bank transfer · Cryptocurrency · Plaid/ACH	CLUB	4.9	$105	Get deal →
13	TradeDay	US futures day traders who want a cheap monthly evaluation	Riseworks · Bank transfer (via Riseworks) · Crypto / USDC	TDNEW	4.6	$45	Review →
14	Alpha Futures	Clean futures rule sets with EOD-locking drawdown; Advanced for experienced traders	Wire transfer · Checkout.com · CoinPayments · Nuvei	APP50	4.4	$89	Review →
15	Topstep	futures · disciplined day traders · long term careers · ninjatrader traders	Prop-to-Brokerage Payouts (US only) · Aeropay	—	3.6	$49	Review →
16	Alpha Capital	UK-based 2-step value (unchanged)	Rise · Wise · Bank Transfer (WIRE / ACH / SWIFT)	ALPHA20	—	$27	Review →
17	Bulenox	futures · ea and bot traders · weekly payout seekers · drawdown flexibility · us traders	ACH · Wire transfer · PayPal	BULENOX	4.7	$94	Review →
18	Hola Prime	Forex traders wanting fast 1-hour payouts, transparent rules	Rise (Riseworks) · Bank transfer · Crypto (Bitcoin / Ethereum	WELCOME20	4.5	$39	Review →
19	QT Funded	Traders who want a 4-day payout cycle with no consistency score (QT ONE)	Cryptocurrency · Wire transfer	TRADERS	3.7	$14	Review →
20	Leeloo Trading	futures · beginner intermediate traders · us traders · free trial seekers · scaling	Rise (Riseworks)	—	3.1	$250	Review →
21	Crypto Fund Trader	Crypto-heavy multi-asset traders, including Bybit users who want to trade the evaluation	Bank transfer (EUR) · Bank transfer (USD) · USDT	NOICE22	—	$40	Review →
22	Top One Trader	Traders who want a very cheap first evaluation (NOVA at $7	RiseWorks (Rise) — bank transfer · RiseWorks	SEPT	—	$64	Review →
23	Trade The Pool	US stocks day-trading specialists wanting access to 12K+ tickers with no PDT rule	Wire transfer · Cryptocurrency · Hub credits · Credit card	—	4.5	$47	Review →
24	Tradeify	Futures traders wanting flexible eval lengths (1-day/3-day/instant) with explicit bot	Rise (RiseWorks) — bank transfer · Rise	SEP	4.5	$99	Review →
25	Lux Trading Firm	Consistent small-size traders — manual or copy-assisted	International wire transfer · PayPal · Wise · Crypto	—	3.6	—	Review →

Ranked by our editorial tier and Trustpilot rating. Trustpilot figures are estimates from our research, not live-fetched. Always confirm current rules and pricing on the firm's official site before buying.

Conditions worth knowing before you pay

Eligibility is not always a clean yes or no. These firms attach a condition to the United States that does not fit in a table cell.

Audacity Capital — DXtrade only, and only 'where permitted' — the firm's FAQ says yes to US residents but keeps a case-by-case right to refuse, and its restricted list is 'not limited to' the countries it names.
Blue Guardian — CFD side: Match Trader and TradeLocker only, no MT5 for US clients. The futures side lists no US platform restriction.
FundedNext — CFD challenges are sold to US clients only on Match-Trader (no MT5), and the firm states that EAs and algorithmic trading are not available on that platform. The futures challenges have no such limit.
Instant Funding — Match-Trader only for US clients; MT5 and cTrader are offered to non-US clients.
The5ers — US clients trade on The5ers' TradingView platform only. MetaTrader is prohibited for US residents by the firm's terms and cTrader is closed to new US accounts.
BrightFunded — DXtrade only. MT5 and cTrader are closed to US persons, and the firm says API and automated trading are not supported on DXtrade — so no EAs for US traders here.
Funded Trader Markets — MT5 and cTrader are barred for US residents and US-origin IPs, leaving TradeLocker and Match-Trader. The firm names what is barred rather than what remains, so confirm the platform before you pay.
Goat Funded Trader — TradeLocker, MatchTrader or Volumetrica only; MT5 and cTrader are not available to clients located in the USA.
ThinkCapital — ThinkTrader platform only for US clients and US territories; no MT4/MT5. Payout via a ThinkMarkets live account is not available to US residents.
Alpha Capital — DXtrade or TradeLocker only. MetaTrader 5 is closed to US residents and cTrader to new US customers; the checkout asks for a non-US attestation when either is selected.
City Traders Imperium — Match-Trader only; the firm's MT5 accounts are explicitly not offered in the USA.
Crypto Fund Trader — Match-Trader (or your own Bybit account) only; MT5 is closed to US residents, including resets and migrations.
FTMO — Served through a separate US entity, FTMO US at ftmo.oanda.com, not the global site: legal US residents only, US tax ID and a licensed US bank account required for rewards, and residents of Arkansas, Delaware, Louisiana, Montana and South Carolina are not accepted.
For Traders — No MT5 for US customers — TradeLocker or cTrader for forex/CFD, and the firm's own For Traders X platform for futures.
Hola Prime — DXtrade, Match-Trader and TradeLocker for US traders; MT4/MT5 and cTrader are closed, and MetaTrader access from a US IP is a breach even over VPN.
Lux Trading Firm — The acceptance appears in the firm's own blog content, not in its terms, which say nothing about the US either way.
Moneta Funded — Match-Trader only; the firm states MT5 is unavailable to US and Canadian traders due to regulations.
QT Funded — TradeLocker only — the firm's own restricted list reads 'United States (MT5 and cTrader)', and its acceptance wording is hedged: 'we may onboard clients from the United States'.
Top One Trader — MatchTrader or TradeLocker only; MT5 is closed to US residents and a US-IP login to cTrader is treated as a hard breach.
Trade The Pool — The firm's yes is phrased for American citizens; its terms exclude by residence and keep the forbidden-territory list open-ended.
Tradeify — A US firm (Boca Raton, Florida); the explicit 'all fifty states' wording sits in its contest terms rather than the account agreement, whose restricted list lives in a help centre.
TradeDay — Puerto Rico, Guam and the US Virgin Islands are on the prohibited list. Business accounts are limited to US single-member LLCs.

Firms that exclude the United States (5)

Each of these names the United States in its own published restrictions. We list them so you can rule them out before you reach a checkout that will turn you away — not as a judgement on the firm, which is usually following its clearing or payment partner rather than making a choice about you.

Fintokei — named in its help centre
Blueberry Funded — named in its help centre
Atmos Funded — named in its own restricted-country list
Hantec Trader — named in its terms of service
BEM Funding — named in its terms of service

Frequently asked questions

Why do so many prop firms exclude US residents?

Because a simulated-funding programme that sells CFDs on forex and indices to a US resident brushes up against CFTC and NFA rules on retail off-exchange trading, and most offshore CFD firms would rather exclude the country than take on a US compliance posture. Futures prop firms are different: they run on CME products through US-regulated brokers and clearing firms, which is why the futures side of this list is long and the CFD side is short.

Can a US citizen living abroad use a CFD prop firm?

Depends on the wording. Some firms exclude by residency, some by citizenship, and a few by both — the quoted terms in our data for each firm say which. A firm that excludes “US persons” usually means citizens wherever they live; a firm that excludes “residents of the United States” is about your address. Read the exact clause on the firm page before you pay, and never use a VPN to get around it: firms void funded accounts for that.

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